Hanna Guan, a senior at BASIS San Antonio Shavano, was named a finalist in the 2023 Regeneron Science Talent Search. Credit: LinkedIn / Hannah Guan

A San Antonio high schooler is being recognized with a prestigious award for making science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education more accessible to students from underserved communities.

Hannah Guan, 15, was last won a 2022 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes along with $10,000. The annual award recognizes 25 students from high schools across the nation who have bettered their communities and the people around them.

The BASIS San Antonio Shavano student is the founder of San Antonio Math Include, or SaMi, a nonprofit that offers free online math classes. Guan launched the service when she was just 11 years old and got the idea from her personal experience.

While growing up, Guan watched as her mother, a single mom and first-generation immigrant, drove across the Lone Star State so her daughter could attend STEM-related events. Guan realized that these types of events and the costs associated with them were not accessible to most students.

“I believe that every child, regardless of their race, family income or zip code, should have equal access to high-quality education,” Guan said in a statement.

Since its start, SaMi has provided free online STEM-related classes to more than 36,000 K-12 students across 42 states and 13 countries. Last year, SaMi hosted one of the nation’s largest free online summer camps, drawing 3,500 students from across the nation.

“Nothing is more inspiring than stories about heroic people who have truly made a difference to the world,” said author T.A. Baron, founder of the Barron Prize. “And we need our heroes today more than ever. Not celebrities, but heroes — people whose character can inspire all of us.”

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This article appears in Sep 21 – Oct 4, 2022.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...